The Courtesan

Chapter 39

Third Person POV

Kalvin had heard rumors of King Mival’s hunting party. It was basically a strength and skill match between influential men that served various purposes. It had been going on long before King Mival ascended the throne and even then, it had a bad reputation. 

They hunted everything; birds, foxes, wolves, bears that strayed from their home and humans. Yes, they hunted actual human beings. 

King Mival would have people in the prisons that committed huge crimes or offended the king released into the hunting forest filled with predators. If they could escape the hunting party and the predators, they could live. Using ‘if’ was strong. None of them ever survived. 

Everyone in the party of King Mival were expert manhunters and war machines. If anyone weak or inexperienced strayed into the hunting game, they would be killed by the predators or the prisoners. The difficulty was very high but it was a way to prove their worth and military strength. 

However, he would rather find out if Elayne was Ariana than join in such a disgusting game. If he ever said that out loud though, he would die in Susanne’s hands. If he didn’t then, he would die in his mother’s hands. 

The carriage rocked on the bumpy road and Susanne complained for the umpteenth time about the opened window. She was knitting a long scarf and occasionally sneezed into it. He grimaced, looking away. 

The forest was a fair distance from the palace, which was fair considering how dangerous it was. He once again expressed his unwillingness to participate and almost got poked to death by Susanne. 

Once they arrived, one of the horses hooked to the carriage was removed and saddled for him. He collected the bow and arrow from his squire who was tasked in protecting Susanne, not that she needed any protection. 

“Be careful out there and come back winning.”

“You cannot wish for me to return in one piece.”

“If you do not make me proud on your return, you will be in one piece again.” Her smile carried more threats than her words did. He rolled his eyes, kicked the horse and rode into the forest. He met no signs of company save for the small animals that fiddled around. 

He nocked his bow with an arrow and followed the path in a slow trot. Kalvin was quite used to hunting with his bow and arrow so staying alive wasn’t much of his concern. His concern was people intentionally targeting him. Soon enough, he heard an arrow whizz through the air and lodge itself in a tree close to his head.

When he turned to look, there was a ‘prisoner’ holding a pair of bow and arrows. The prisoners weren’t supposed to be armed. He was being obviously targeted. 

He kicked the side of the horse, avoiding the next rain of arrows. He drew his bow and shot at his attacker. It went in a perfect arc and almost landed before it was shot down just as fast with a hunting gun. This time, a noble he couldn’t recognize joined the prisoner. 

“Well King Mival, aren’t you eager?” He commented, clicking his tongue. He withdrew his arrow, urging his horse to run faster. He heard the neigh of a horse from behind and sure enough, there were more attackers, two of them on a horse. 

Up ahead, there was a fork, which was a ready symbol of disaster as he wasn’t familiar with the route. He took the left and ran head first into a place without paths his horse could take and more tall trees. His thoughts ran at a fast pace and he swung himself off the horse. 

The riders and the others on foot followed him straight into the route and encountered the same problem. They acted in an organized manner, leaving some riders on the path and heading deeper with enough armed members to overwhelm him. They seemed to know their way around the place so they walked in fast paces. 

They had hardly walked for long when one of them fell to the ground. Before they could check on him, another one fell. They brought out their weapons and pointed them to the trees. They finally saw Kalvin the tree, hanging to it with one hand, holding a crossbolt. 

He smirked, shooting one more before swinging on properly on the tree, fleeing as fast as he could. The one left alive was unfortunately armed with a gun so Kalvin’s escaping path was severely obstructed. 

Kalvin raced against time, using his hands to rearm the crossbolt while using his legs to run. It was reckless and stupid, as he almost fell a few times. He reached a gap, closed his eyes and jumped, praying for a miracle. 

Of course, the gods weren’t that merciful; he slipped as he jumped and began falling headfirst. The last attacker aimed his gun at the falling prince and found his arms a little weak. Kalvin held a dislodged crossbolt, his alert eyes filled with mischief. 

He landed on his side on a bush he had sighted before, breaking a few bones. He also dislocated his shoulder and so, he couldn’t get up for a while. He exhaled, laying in the bush. 

“No wonder she was being so fussy. King Mival really is daring. To think he’ll try to kill me so boldly…”

He listened for a while, not hearing the sound of any horses or animals. He was relieved, resting his injured body. In a few seconds, it hit him. If there was nothing around, it usually meant there was a powerful predator around. He jumped to his feet, agitating his wounds. He limped to the dead bodies, picking up the hunting rifle and a short dagger. 

His search was brief and he began making his way out of there. But it was too late. He had a low, guttural growl from behind him, freezing him in his tracks. 

Meanwhile, not too far from there, Prince Kron was riding his horse towards that direction. He had heard of the rumors of it being a bear’s hibernation spot. If he could hunt the bear and bring it to his father,he could earn his favor and keep his position.

It certainly was strange that he hadn’t seen any prisoner as he rode by, nor had he seen anyone else. Normally, the forest was bustling with people trying to steal other people’s prey. 

When he saw a riderless horse run past him, his guts told him something was wrong. He urged his horse to run faster, hoping his prey hadn’t been stolen from him or worse, enraged. 

He soon heard a loud growl and a rifle go off. He arrived at the fork, heading straight for where he heard the sound. He arrived in time to see the bear swipe for Prince Kalvin and almost take his head off. 

Prince Kalvin heard the whine of the horse and looked back, panic in his eyes. When he saw it was Prince Kron, he yelled at him.

“Don’t just stand there, help me! If this thing leaves here, everyone else will be in danger.”

Prince Kron hesitated as he wasn’t inclined to help Prince Kalvin. After all, his father already expressed his desire to be rid of the other prince. 

Prince Kalvin, seeing Prince Kron hesitating, released the bolt he had loaded, shooting the horse in the leg. The horse bucked in pain and threw Prince Kron off. 

“What the hell?!”

“Now you cannot escape. Now help me or we die together.”

Prince Kron grit his teeth, finally realizing why his father hated Prince Kalvin. Annoyed, he drew his own hunting rifle. While he aimed it at the bear, in his mind, it was pointed at Prince Kalvin. 

He drew the trigger and released.